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Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Netwrix Data Classification comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Purview Data Gove...
Ranking in Data Governance
1st
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (12th)
Netwrix Data Classification
Ranking in Data Governance
21st
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Data Governance category, the mindshare of Microsoft Purview Data Governance is 8.8%, down from 21.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netwrix Data Classification is 1.5%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Governance Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Purview Data Governance8.8%
Netwrix Data Classification1.5%
Other89.7%
Data Governance
 

Featured Reviews

AS
Tech lead at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Automated data discovery has streamlined management while configuration remains complex
Compared to Big-ID, Microsoft Purview Data Governance looks complicated to me. I do not feel it has a good user-level UI. The interface feels a little complicated compared to Big-ID. I did not appreciate the configuration part. It felt complex, whereas when I went for a Big-ID demo, the interface looked better and was easier to understand for any user.
GF
Isms Manager & Information Systems Security at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
Automated data labeling has reduced manual work and supports our privacy compliance needs
We would like to enforce labeling currently in place. If a document is classified as strictly confidential, we want to be able to apply a profile that can cause documents to expire or revoke access anywhere the document is. We need a security feature so that if we have classified a document as strictly confidential and given it to a third party, that document remains strictly confidential. There has to be a way to enforce it and prevent the document from being shared with any other person apart from the person it was sent to. We do not want AI in security products for now, as AI in security products tends to be risky. AI can improve reporting and detection, but it should not execute.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The e-discovery search is useful."
"Microsoft Purview is scalable."
"The availability of pre-designed policies tailored to specific geolocations and customer requirements is a valuable feature."
"The product has helped us save both time and money."
"The labeling is the most valuable feature for the companies I'm installing it for. Some of them have several thousand staff, and their concerns are around confidential or private data being shared. The labels and the policies involved with them give them that initial visibility."
"It starts off with records management, insider risk management, and information protection. And there is the discovery of the clouds, and we can get analytics on that as well, so that we know which user is using which cloud application and for how much time. The Activity explorer tells us which user was transferring out what data at what moment and on which device, including the serial number."
"The data protection feature is vital as it controls who can access data when it moves out of our protected boundary."
"The user interface is highly intuitive and user-friendly."
"It's highly flexible and scalable, offering customers the choice to match their needs and budget."
"There is a massive cost saving; it is easy to use, the reporting is clean, and it is simpler to use than the Microsoft DLP solution, Purview."
"Netwrix Data Classification Manager finds the data in a very efficient manner, and the efficacy of the solution is very good."
 

Cons

"There are some limitations with regard to the lineage of data from different parts of the system."
"I have some concerns about the separation of roles in Purview from the Microsoft tenant, as well as how they interact with the security portal and endpoint manager."
"I lose a little bit of that control when we're talking about third-party connectors. Compliance-wise, I would like to see more ability to audit from a user perspective, where I could extrapolate what the user was thinking or trying to do."
"Compared to Big-ID, Microsoft Purview Data Governance looks complicated to me. I do not feel it has a good user-level UI."
"It could reduce pricing to encourage usage."
"The technical support has room for improvement."
"We have had a lot of issues since we moved to Unified Support. There have been work gaps there, and we believe they fixed them, but we need to make sure that they are going to be sustainable. It is to be seen."
"While Microsoft Purview currently allows weekly scans for data sources, this limitation hinders the usefulness of the tool for frequently changing data."
"Netwrix Data Classification Manager is very good at network data classification, but it also has to work on endpoint data classification because clients ask for it."
"One of the key issues is its interface and querying capabilities, which can be complex, making it difficult to interpret logs."
"We would like to enforce labeling currently in place. If a document is classified as strictly confidential, we want to be able to apply a profile that can cause documents to expire or revoke access anywhere the document is."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing is frustrating due to multiple modules and licenses. The feature might be available in the console, but it won't work without the proper license, creating confusion."
"Microsoft Purview is the best option I have encountered when it comes to price. Maybe some of my information is outdated, but Microsoft offered it so that you could use it almost without paying."
"Microsoft Purview has a pay-per-use pricing model, so it's one of the most cost-effective tools, as your cost will be based on your usage. It's a pricing model that Microsoft has nailed down, making it great whether you're a small organization or a multinational, giant organization."
"The categorization within the licensing could be improved. There are a lot of solutions within Microsoft Purview. If the licensing could be a bit clearer and the solutions could be better categorized according to function and across multiple environments, that would be excellent. The licensing is very confusing."
"Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention is not cheap."
"To get the full features of Purview, we currently need E5 enterprise licenses, which are expensive."
"Aside from the complexity of the pricing model, the price itself is realistic. Features like AI components and automatic classification require additional licenses. Still, anyone can start using Purview with a basic E3 license if they're using Microsoft 365 and grow with additional licenses as needed. Overall, we're satisfied with the price."
"It's not cheap. I'm not exactly sure how much our license costs, but it is very expensive."
"The initial pricing might seem reasonable, but costs can quickly escalate when adding components."
"Netwrix Data Classification Manager has an affordable price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise33
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Purview?
Microsoft Purview Data Governance is quite affordable compared to other market solutions, which have high initial costs. It allows for a cost-effective start with negligible initial cost. However, ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Purview?
The features in the actual data governance could be improved, and I think there is room for improvement in the product. We haven't used role-based access control in a complex way; it's somehow embe...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Azure Purview?
We are currently working with Microsoft Purview Data Governance and other Microsoft products. We are using Microsoft Purview Data Governance.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Netwrix Data Classification Manager?
There is a cost increase. When Microsoft moved or divided the features, they also added cost to it. In order to get those features back, we will be paying much more than before to get the same feat...
What needs improvement with Netwrix Data Classification Manager?
We would like to enforce labeling currently in place. If a document is classified as strictly confidential, we want to be able to apply a profile that can cause documents to expire or revoke access...
What is your primary use case for Netwrix Data Classification Manager?
We want to discover documents and classify them automatically rather than manually classifying them. We give them labels from internal to confidential to strictly confidential. That way all the doc...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Purview, MS Azure Purview
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs. Netwrix Data Classification and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
895,272 professionals have used our research since 2012.